Possibilities and limits of an Ecumenical Ecclesiology – Traces of a Path

Abstract

The article presents an approach to ecumenical ecclesiology, which appeared to reflect the ecumenical dimension of Ecclesiology. The author approaches the subject in five steps: the need for an ecumenical ecclesiology, ecumenism as “formal principle” of ecclesiology and the sources and methods of ecumenical ecclesiology. He concludes with the study of “authority, God’s gift to the Church”, where the question of authority, the Episcopal ministry as service to the unit and the Petrine ministry as confirmation of the unit, are discussed.